UN Weapons Inspectors Enter Iraqi Presidential Palace

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 03, 2002

UN Weapons Inspectors Enter Iraqi Presidential Palace

U.N. weapons inspectors on Tuesday made an unannounced visit to one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces for the first time.

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U.N. weapons inspectors on Tuesday made an unannounced visit to one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces for the first time.

When the speeding U.N. convoy rolled up to the gates of the Al-Sajoud palace west of Baghdad on the sixth day of inspections, guards scrambled and radioed for instructions.

But they seemed well prepared for an eventual visit by the inspectors, opening the huge gates and allowing the half-dozen U.N. vehicles inside with minimal delay.

Just a couple of minutes later, Saddam's presidential secretary, Abid Hamoud, arrived in a four-wheel drive vehicle and entered the sprawling grounds by the Tigris River.

Far beyond the tall ornate gates, a massive dome-topped building loomed in the morning haze. Such palaces, many of them new, house both living quarters and offices.

Access to Saddam's many presidential sites was an explosive issue in the previous round of inspections in the 1990s. The Iraqis sought to bar those U.N. inspectors and it required personal negotiations between U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Saddam to reach an accommodation: Inspectors could visit with diplomatic escort and advance notice.

The international teams later inspected such presidential sites, finding nothing.

A new Security Council resolution adopted last month superseded such arrangements, mandating unrestricted free, unannounced access to all Iraqi sites.

Source: Agencies

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